Ebola/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. An animation shows a plane flying. Tim and Moby are seated inside of that plane. Tim is looking at the safety manual while Moby is reading the in-flight menu. TIM: Whoa, did you know that our plane has four emergency exits, two fore and two aft? MOBY: Beep. Tim turns to a stewardess in the plane's aisle. TIM: Three fruit and cheese plates for my droid, please. Moby receives the fruit and cheese plate. Tim coughs and covers his mouth. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh would you relax. I feel perfectly— Moby is wearing a hazardous material suit, or hazmat suit. TIM: Fine. Moby is holding a letter. MOBY: Beep. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I've been seeing a lot of scary stuff about Ebola in the news. Am I in danger? Help! From, Erin. Hi, Erin. The short answer is, probably not. An image of the Ebola virus is shown. A map of Africa is shown with a shaded area. The word "tropics" labels the shaded area. TIM: The Ebola virus normally stays inside certain animals in the tropics of Africa. Every couple of years, the virus crosses into a person and causes an outbreak. A pulsating red dot is placed on the map. An animation shows red figures and blue figures. Arrows point from the red figures to the blue figures, which turn red. TIM: That's when a disease suddenly starts spreading. But Ebola outbreaks rarely spread very far. So unless you live in one of those places, your chances of getting sick are close to zero. An animation of shapes with spikes and smooth shapes is shown. More shapes appear quickly. An image of a globe with the heading “Flu Outbreak” and a footer saying “Breaking News” is shown. An animation of red dots indicating the flu outbreak quickly pops up in different parts of the globe. TIM: Compare that to the flu, which is spread by a different virus. It's so common, there's a worldwide season for it every year. On the plane, Moby lifts his hazmat suit's head shield. MOBY: Beep. An image shows a face on a virus symbol. The animation then shows tiny versions of the virus replicating and attaching itself to cells. TIM: A virus is a tiny organic particle that infects living cells. Every virus has one goal: to replicate, or make copies of itself. The virus animation shows the inside of a living cell. The virus makes a mischievous face, goes into the cell, and reproduces. TIM: To do that, it needs the machinery of a living cell. So it infects an organism, and uses its cells to reproduce. An animation shows a woman with a popup image next to her of the inside of her throat. Virus organisms are moving around and reproducing in it. The woman's face changes to a sick face as more virus organisms reproduce. The woman covers her mouth and coughs. TIM: Often, this is bad news for the host, the living thing the virus has infected. The effects can be minor, like the runny nose and headaches of the common cold virus. An image of a round, spiked shape is shown representing the HIV virus. TIM: They can also be deadly, as in the case of the HIV virus. Pills are shown next to the HIV virus shape. MOBY: Beep. An image of the Ebola virus symbol is shown with a red line across it. TIM: Right, there are effective treatments for HIV, but still none for Ebola. So there's no stopping its progress when it infects someone. An animation shows a person's shadow with their organs and veins highlighted. It pulsates and has wavy lines around it. A popup animation shows cells moving and breaking through a wall that blood cells go through. The cells then get stuck in a small area of the wall. The figure's heart, liver, and brain are highlighted. TIM: The early stages are a lot like the flu, with fever, muscle pain, nausea, and headaches. As it spreads, the virus tricks the body into attacking its own veins and arteries. This leads to hemorrhaging, or internal bleeding. The virus also causes blood to clot, or clump up in places. That could block arteries, cutting off oxygen to important organs like the heart, liver, and brain. MOBY: Beep. An animation shows blue figures of people with the Ebola virus symbol inside them. Some patients turn red, others black. TIM: In about half off all cases, the body can fight off the infection. In the other half, blood pressure keeps dropping, organs shut down, and the patient dies. On the plane, Moby puts his hand on his head and frowns. He pulls his hazmat's head shield back down. TIM: That's what has some people so scared. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Fortunately, Ebola doesn't spread very easily. MOBY: Beep. An image shows a figure with a virus inside him and others without it. Arrows point from the one with the virus to the others. TIM: Well, viruses depend on their hosts to carry them around so they can infect others. An animation of a boy inside a crowded bus is shown. A popup shows viruses floating around in the air. TIM: That's why a virus like the common cold is so successful. It only makes you a little sick, so you go about your life and infect lots of other people. Plus, it's airborne. If you sneeze or cough, the virus can stay suspended in the air for hours. An animation shows a girl on the bus with particles going into her nose. TIM: If anyone inhales it, they can get sick too. But Ebola isn't like that. On the plane, Moby takes off his hazmat suit's headgear. MOBY: Beep. TIM: First, when people are most contagious with it, they're not in any shape to walk around. Images of different colored liquids representing blood, sweat, and water, all with the Ebola virus, are shown. In the center, there is a hand with a red line across it. TIM: And it can only infect those that touch their bodily fluids; like sweat, blood, or saliva. That's why Ebola most commonly spreads to close family members and medical staff, not random strangers. Moby opens his hazmat suit. MOBY: Beep. An animation shows a bat hanging upside down. A popup shows Ebola viruses floating around. An animation shows bats hanging upside down at a market. TIM: Scientists suspect that a type of African bat might act as a reservoir host for Ebola. That's an organism in which a virus normally thrives without making it sick. If an infected animal's fluids get inside someone, the virus can cross over. Once that person infects someone else, it's the start of an outbreak. MOBY: Beep. An image of a map of Africa is shown. A red pulsing dot with the year 1976 is labeled in one of the countries. More red dots and more years appear: 1977, 1979, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008. TIM: The first outbreak was in 1976, near the Ebola river, in what's now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This outbreak and most of those that followed began in remote villages. That limited the scope of the infections. On the same map, a red dot appears and a country is highlighted with the year 2013 labeled. TIM: But all that changed in late 2013, with an outbreak in the West African nation of Guinea. It wasn't identified as Ebola for several months and by then it had spread to cities. On the map, more countries are highlighted with the year 2014 labeled. TIM: By the middle of 2014, thousands of people in nearby countries had been infected. An animation of the map moves it over to the United States. A state is highlighted with a red dot placed on it. TIM: And in October, a traveler from Liberia unknowingly brought it to the United States. Moby frowns. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, he wasn't sick when he traveled. An animation shows a figure with the Ebola virus next to other figures and a clock. Arrows point from the Ebola virus figure to the others. TIM: It can take up to three weeks for Ebola to make you sick, and you're not contagious until then. But don't worry, so far the cases in the U.S. have been limited to just a few people. An animation shows a flashing ambulance in front of a hospital. TIM: Hospitals here are much better equipped to care for these patients. An image shows two men in hazmat suits in a clear tent with oxygen machines attached to it. A patient is shown with an IV tube attached to him and a heart monitoring machine. TIM: First, they're put in isolation, kept strictly apart from everybody else. Their blood pressure and oxygen are constantly supported. This gives their immune system a chance to fight off the infection. Moby takes off his hazmat suit. TIM: If it can do that, the patient is cured, and is no longer contagious. MOBY: Beep. A picture of a hypodermic needle is shown. TIM: There are several vaccines in development that may one day give people immunity to the virus. An image shows a person in a hazmat suit testing drugs. TIM: And researchers are working on new medicines that will fight the infection. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know, but it's important to keep all this in perspective. An image of two posted signs is shown. One reads "Ebola is Real. Let's Fight Together." The other reads "Know the Facts: Always Wash Your Hands." An image of hands and soap are on it. It continues with "protect yourself from Ebola Virus!" TIM: The number one enemy isn't Ebola. It's ignorance and panic. Every outbreak before has been stopped in its tracks without vaccines or cures. All it takes is for everyone to pull together, stay calm, and stay informed. Tim turns to the stewardess on the plane. STEWARDESS: Ahum, ahum. TIM: Yes, I will have the sushi, please. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts